On the record
If his will is set by the will of others, he ceases to be master of himself.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgIf his will is set by the will of others, he ceases to be master of himself.
Laski emphasizes the importance of individual autonomy in the context of freedom.
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More from Harold J. Laski
Each age makes some idol in its own image and sacrifices upon its altar the freedom of those who refuse it worship.
He is able, accordingly, to indulge in the twofold luxury not only of preserving his own authority, but also of assisting the persons attacked to enter, if they so choose, the way of truth.
Ultimately, that denial is always made upon the same ground: it is insisted that the doctrines or practices attacked are subversive of the civil order.
When attacks on liberty are political or economic, it is their motive rather than their nature that changes.